Switch To Linux

To further reduce my dependence on big tech, I decided that it was time to switch to Linux on my desktop PC. This is something of a plan in of itself, since there is some mandatory preparation involved, as well as a few optional steps that I will document, but ultimately decided to skip.

Step 1 - Back up all important data

I have a pretty decent backup plan involving a NAS with drive redundancy, but I had a few stray files on my PC that needed to be moved over. This was not a big deal, but this is effectively step zero for anyone who doesn't have an effective backup process going into this switch.

After I complete this switch, I will likely work on a better system for keeping future "stray files" off of my PC and safely stored on my NAS...

Step 2 - Application replacement plan

I reviewed the applications that I used on a regular basis and made a list of Linux alternatives. My list was pretty short because I tend to spend a lot of time in a relatively small number of applications.

We'll come back to this list in a bit when I review what worked, what didn't, and what I didn't need.

Step 3 - Shrink and backup Window disk image (optional)

This is a step I skipped, but I might recommend for an experienced user who is attempting to move away from Windows for the first time.

Windows has a utility called disk2vhd that can take a full disk image of your active Windows environment. Practically speaking, what this means is that you'll be able to use your same Windows setup in a virtual machine on Linux if you find that there's something you really needed that can't be done on Linux.

One of the downsides of disk2vhd is that it creates a file that is the size of your Windows install drive, which for most users will be the C: drive. This is probably pretty big, and it might make sense to shrink it before creating the disk image. Windows has the ability to shrink a disk, but you'll probably want to remove any unwanted programs before doing this.

If you run into an issue with un-movable files interfering with the shrink process, you'll end up down a rabbit hole of search for ways to get rid of these files. All this to say, I considered this process, but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth my time, given my overall comfort level that Linux would meet my needs.

Step 4 - Pick a distro

This was a tough choice for me. I favor distros that push updates quickly, sometimes at the expense of stability.

I've used Ubuntu and other Debian-based distros quite a bit in the past and decided that this time I would try something else. After pondering Fedora for a while, I ultimately decided that I wanted to use KDE this time around and ended up with openSUSE.

I'll probably try Fedora in the future, and some flavor of Arch after that.

Step 5 - Install and test

The installation itself is pretty easy. Getting everything set up again after, and testing all the planned alternatives is what took some time. Of my list above, I found that 7-Zip wasn't needed, a Notepad++ replacement beyond NeoVim wasn't needed, and that streaming music from my NAS was a perfectly fine substitute for Apple Music on desktop. In fact, this exercise has me pondering getting rid of Apple Music as a possible future project...

Steam worked after a little bit of fiddling. What I found is that openSUSE is probably not the best choice for someone that really cares about Steam, and wants things to "just work" out of the box. I mean, I pretty much knew that going in, so...

Proton VPN was a disappointment. It only offers good support for a handful of distros, and openSUSE isn't one of them. I installed it via flatpack, which limits some of the functionality. I'm currently a paid user of Proton, and in the event that the lack of functionality turns into a dealbreaker, I'm not sure if I'll give up Proton or give up openSUSE. Probably the former...

Conclusion and next steps

Anyway, this was a good transition, and I don't regret putting in the work to take another small step away from big tech.

I'll update this plan in the future as I progress further into my journey with openSUSE.